About 90% of retirees say they rely on Social Security, approximately the same as the percentage of workers who expect Social Security to help them meet their retirement income needs. Similarly, about 60% of workers expect a traditional pension plan to provide income, which is only slightly higher than the percentage of retirees who say a pension helps pay their bills. In other cases, worker expectations differ dramatically from retiree realities. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, … [Read more...]
Avoiding Probate
Probate is the process of proving the validity of a will and supervising the administration of an estate usually in the probate court. State law governs the proceedings in the probate court, so the process can vary from state to state. Supervising the administration of an estate can result in additional expense, unwanted publicity, and delays in the distribution of estate assets for a year or longer, which is why planning to avoid the probate process may be beneficial. There are several ways … [Read more...]
Will a government pension reduce my Social Security benefits?
If you earned a government pension from a job not subject to Social Security tax withholding ("noncovered employment") and are also eligible for Social Security benefits through a job where Social Security taxes were withheld, two provisions might reduce your benefits: the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO). The WEP affects how a worker's Social Security benefit is calculated. If you're subject to the WEP, your benefit is calculated using a modified … [Read more...]
